Management Review ›› 2026, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 117-128.

• Marketing • Previous Articles    

Carbon-neutral Pathway Choices: A Study on Consumers' Heterogeneous Preferences on Carbon Reduction and Offsetting

Wan Guangyu1, Gao Aiai1, Hua Jingfen1, Kou Furou2   

  1. 1. School of Economics & Trade, Hunan University, Changsha 410082;
    2. Business School, Central South University, Changsha 410083
  • Received:2024-05-22 Published:2026-06-06

Abstract: Against the challenging backdrop of global climate warming, consumer behavior plays a critical role in achieving carbon neutrality goals. Based on discrete choice experiments, this study uses Mixed Logit models and Latent Class Logit models to comprehensively analyze consumers' heterogeneous preferences and influencing factors regarding corporate carbon neutrality strategies (carbon reduction and carbon offsetting). The findings reveal that consumers generally show stronger preferences for carbon reduction strategies compared to carbon offsetting approaches, particularly among those with strong personal responsibility and high environmental awareness. When both strategies are available, environmentally conscious consumers, female respondents, and older demographics demonstrate marked preferences for combined carbon reduction-offsetting strategies over singular approaches. Similarly, consumers with higher levels of understanding of both strategies tend to avoid choosing carbon offsetting alone. The research provides a new perspective for understanding the behavioral mechanisms underlying consumers' responses to corporate carbon neutrality strategies, offering empirical evidence for enterprises to develop effective decarbonization strategies that align with consumer preferences and sustainable development requirements.

Key words: carbon neutrality, carbon offsetting, choice preferences, willingness to pay, discrete choice experiment